City Guide: Seattle

Your one-stop city guide, packed with information on family-friendly hotels, restaurants, and local and unique attractions.

Rain or shine, Seattle is the most vibrant and interesting city in the Pacific Northwest. While its a safe bet to expect a few gray days during your visit, there is plenty of outdoor and indoor fun to be had.

The price for the Sheraton Seattle is definitely right! The location is close to all of Seattle’s main tourist attractions and a short walk from public transportation if you want to do even more exploring.

Adorable is the first word that comes to mind when describing this downtown bed and breakfast. Located steps from the famous Pike Place Market, most rooms have great views of the city. This B&B is a great place for a special trip with your grandchild. If you’re traveling with a larger group, be advised that the rooms comfortably fit about two people, but larger suites are available.

The Red Lion is an inexpensive Downtown hotel that welcomes families with open arms. With their Seattle Family Vacation package, your grandchildren will receive gifts like a plush red lion, a welcome bag with their own map of Seattle and tickets to the Woodland Park Zoo. This package also grants you access to the Roaring Start Breakfast Buffett and a $50 Chevron gas card. In addition, the Red Lion also offers senior discounts for guests over 50.

Families love Twirl Café for its fully contained and spacious play area. The custom built tree playhouse is just one of the things at Twirl Café for kids to climb on and explore. You can visit for “open play” or if you want some time to yourself to relax, come in for “supervised play” and a member of the staff will look after your grandchild while you enjoy some of Twirl’s local and organic menu. Worried about germs? Fear not, the play space is cleaned daily with earth-friendly products and a UV-C sanitizing light!

Rosita’s is perfect for casual dining with your grandchildren. It’s spacious and is always buzzing with noise, so no one will notice if your family gets a bit loud. Every order comes with complimentary chips and salsa, a welcome treat for hungry patrons and kids who need to be distracted before the meal arrives.

Tutta Bella is the “first certified” Neapolitan pizzeria in the Northwest and a favorite for locals and tourists alike. Can’t agree on what toppings to pick? Don’t worry, everyone can get their own 8” Pizzetta version of any pizza on the menu for just $8.

This super kid-friendly establishment lets kids eat free on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with the purchase of an adult entrée and kid’s drink. Young seafood lovers can try the kid’s cod fillet and fries, and if your grandchildren don’t like surf, there are plenty of turf options like burgers, chicken fingers, and corn dogs.

The mouth-watering, award winning burgers aren’t the only reason to come to Zippy’s Giant Burgers. They have an extensive collection of vintage syrup-free sodas and root beer that will be the closest thing to time travel you’ll experience in Seattle.

A symbol of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, the Space Needle was built for the 1962 World’s Fair when nearly 20,000 people rode the elevator each day. Today, the Space Needle is home to an observation deck over 500 feet in the air where you can experience great views of the city and beyond. If the ride to the top makes you hungry, sit down for a meal at the SkyCity restaurant, a rotating eatery that completes a 360- degree turn every hour.

This one-of-a-kind interactive museum is a great time for children, teens, and adults alike. Older music buffs will love all of the priceless artifacts, like Jimi Hendrix’s guitar from Woodstock. Younger musicians will love the Spin Kids Station and Sound Lab where they’ll get the chance to play a plethora of instruments and even record a mini-CD.

The Seattle Aquarium is home to a wide-array of local marine life. Don’t miss the Underwater Dome, a 360-degree-view of a 400,000 gallon tank of hundreds of fascinating fish that live in the Puget Sound.

Award-winnings exhibits like the Elephant Forest and Tropical Rain Forest are just a few of the adventures the Woodland Park Zoo to experience with your family. See a wide array of animals from aardvarks to zebras, or visit the Zoomazium, a nature-themed indoor play space for children eight and under.

Argosy Cruises have been setting sail in Seattle since 1949, attracting millions of visitors for their one-hour harbor tours. Hop on and experience a narrated tour of Seattle’s beautiful and historic harbor. You’ll see the waterfront, the city skyline and the Cascade and Olympic Mountains, all from an open-air deck.

No trip to Seattle is complete without a visit to the Pike Place Market, one of the oldest continually operating farmer’s markets in the United States. First opened in 1907, here you’ll find all sorts of food, crafts, antiques and collectibles. Don’t miss the famous fish throwers at Pike Place Fish Market, where you’ll likely see employees tossing three-foot salmons to each other over the counter.

Let your grandchildren explore 22,000 square feet of hands-on learning at the Children’s Museum in Seattle. Take a tour around the world in the Global Village, where your grandchildren can take a ride through Ghana, pedal through the Philippines or cook in a Japanese kitchen. Every day the museum offers a new program or discovery project for children of all ages.

Gas Works Park has long been heralded as one of the most beautiful parks in the city. Built on the site of the old Seattle Gas Light Company, Gas Works Park offers a large play barn, a hill popular for kite flying and spectacular views of Lake Union, and the city. The old, rusted gasification plant in the middle of the park also makes for a unique photo op.

Pioneer Square was once the heart of the city of Seattle. Today, you can visit this historic neighborhood for a peek into how life was before the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. But the history in Pioneer Square isn’t all visible from the street. Beneath the street exists three blocks of the original city, which you can tour on Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour. (Note: be aware that the tour is 75 minutes and may not be the best idea for younger grandchildren). The tour begins inside of Doc Maynard’s Public House, a restored 1890’s saloon.

The Museum of Flight is the perfect place for aspiring pilots and plane lovers. Let your grandchildren play pretend in a cockpit or take a ride in a flight simulator. They’ll love looking at the collection of more than 150 historic air and spacecraft related artifacts!

With a Starbucks on every corner in nearly every city, you may be thinking there’s no reason to see another one on your trip. But if you find yourself in need of a snack break, visit the world’s first Starbucks. The native Seattle company opened its first store in 1971 in Pike Place Market. Because the market is a historic district with design guidelines, it retains its original design.

Take advantage of Seattle’s beautiful forests at Golden Gardens Park. This popular outdoor park is great for a sunny spring day picnic. You can hike on one of its many trails, swim in the Puget Sound or take a fishing break off the pier.

Wacky is an understatement when it comes to Archie McPhee in Seattle. Kids can easily spend hours perusing the aisles of unique toys and oddities (like the Magical Unicorn Mask or the Yodeling Pickle). Past patrons of the store include Anthony Bourdain, who stopped there while filming his show for the Travel Channel.

The giant statue under the Aurora Bridge is really something you have to see to believe! Your grandchildren will beg you for a picture, or to climb up the giant mixed media statue, which has become a necessary stop on Seattle trips since it was created in 1990.

Comments

My comments as an authentic native: (1): use the city buses to sightsee; (2) NEVER go to the Public Market on the weekend!!!; (3) take a ferry ride -- walking on and just doing a round-trip to Bremerton or Bainbridge Island is fun; (4) explore Schmitz Park to see what the area looked like before all the big cedar trees were cut down; (5) take a bus to Alki Beach and have buy lunch at Spud's Reastaurant.